Mother may have planned children's deaths

Social worker thinks she acted out of love.

Social worker thinks she acted out of love.

November 25, 2006|YONIKA WILLIS Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA -- Angelica Alvarez had planned to kill her four children for some time, licensed clinical social worker James Peinkofer believes. "She probably killed the little ones first and waited until the older ones came home from school," the child social worker theorizes. Peinkofer has researched child homicides for a decade and is working on a book about the issue. He owns his own part-time consulting agency, which, he said, investigators nationwide refer to with sociological questions regarding specific cases. Peinkofer is the author of the book, "Silenced Angels: the Medical, Legal and Social Aspects of Shaken Baby Syndrome" and currently practices social work for a hospice. He said he also has practiced pediatric social work at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. Peinkofer believes Alvarez, 27, most likely tried to commit altruistic filicide-suicide, meaning she killed her children out of love and then tried to kill herself. She probably believed she was protecting them from the unimaginable forces of the world, Peinkofer speculates, but, unfortunately, the children weren't protected from her. Authorities say strangulation was the method used to kill Jennifer Lopez, 8; Gonzalo Lopez, 6; Daniel Valdez, 4; and Jessica Valdez, 2, who were found in the basement of their home Nov. 14 by Fernando Valdez -- the father of the two youngest children and Alvarez's husband. Alvarez, who at first was found unresponsive in the home but was taken to Elkhart General Hospital after showing signs of life, was formally charged Wednesday with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths. It is unclear what injuries Alvarez may have suffered. She is being held at Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis, according to WSBT-TV. Peinkofer speculates Alvarez individually called the children to the basement so the others wouldn't have to witness the murder of their siblings. "They probably loved her dearly," he said. "They didn't think the basement was an evil place. They trusted her. They went right down, right to their deaths." Alvarez likely thought she was trying to protect the only family she had, Peinkofer believes. Alvarez reportedly left her entire family behind when she moved from Mexico to Goshen with the father of her oldest two children, Gonzalo Lopez, about a decade ago. Lopez had family here. So the only relatives Alvarez had were her four children, Peinkofer said. Alvarez and Lopez eventually separated, and Alvarez married Valdez and moved to 1200 Hester St. in Elkhart, where she had her two younger children. Throughout Alvarez's marriage to Valdez, police records indicate many custody disputes between Alvarez and Lopez regarding her two older children. Lopez recently told The Tribune that Alvarez spent 12 days in a mental institution after sinking into a deep depression following the loss of a three-year job she had at a factory. "I imagine she loved her children and felt her life was being pulled apart," Peinkofer speculates. "These are factors that go into altruistic filicide-suicide, especially when there's a threat of losing kids. "She lost her job and she didn't want to lose her kids. She took the most extreme way out," he theorizes. Peinkofer ruled out the possibility of postpartum depression -- a depression that can occur in mothers after giving birth -- because Alvarez's youngest child was too old. "Postpartum depression can go up to a year, but usually up to the age of six months," he said. Alvarez's youngest child was 2. And, Peinkofer doesn't believe Alvarez was psychotic like some of the recent cases involving mothers killing their children. "When you're psychotic, you do your deed and it's often a relief when it's over," he said. "She appears to have planned this and calculated this," he speculates. "They were killed altogether, and she literally attempted suicide." At a Wednesday afternoon court hearing, Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill requested a competency examination to determine whether Alvarez is able to stand trial. But in a news conference earlier that day, Hill said, he has no reason to believe Alvarez is not competent. He also stressed that Alvarez is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Once the examination is completed, a court hearing will determine where the case will go from there.Staff writer Yonika Willis: ywillis@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6556